A New Day

Last night was the first night of my lifelinks group at Dennis & Marty's house in North Buffalo. The plan for the night was to pick out a Bible study for the next 8 months. The evening started with everyone arriving with food for the potluck dinner we would be having. This year about 15 people came out to the house for fellowship. This was a lot more than last year. It was nice to see so many people wanting to be committed to growing together in their relationship with Jesus and with others.
We started off the evening with prayer. We lifted up the evening and asked God for His direction on what study He wanted us to learn from. We decided on a series based in Genesis by Ken Hamm. It should be good. After prayer we had dinner. Everyone brought a delicious meal to pass. It truly was a smorgasboard of foods. We all enjoyed one another's fellowship along with the delicious food we were able to partake of.
It was a good evening and I am looking forward to getting to know the new people to the group. We are planning to do some community outreach and also some fun times of fellowship. I'll keep you posted on what happens.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~

Mindset

About the Mindset.
I have started this exercise program to be proactive about my health and well being. I have to remember that no matter what those around me see, God sees me as beautiful. When I start to see my goals come to pass, I have to make sure I am renewing my mind with the positive aspects of what is taking place with my body. I cannot let the old mindset of being fat and overweight "weigh" me down.
Thanks for listening!

Mindset & sore muscles

Yes, once again I have not blogged in a few days. I think about it and then get side tracked with other activities going on in my life. I have been busy. Can you tell?
Let's see I think I left off last Wednesday morning. Well, Wednesday evening I drove out to Bally's Fitness center and signed a three year contract for membership. With the membership came two hours with a personal trainer (boy, would I need it). I have no idea how to work any of the machines in the building. Well, after the interview with Nate, one of the trainers, I was off to play tennis with Tim. I met him at the tennis courts on North Forest. When we arrived all three courts were being used. So we waited! After about 45 minutes a court became free, we almost had to "fight" off two young teenage boys. They arrived a little while after we did. I did find humor in the conversation of these two boys. Oh well, boys will be boys. Once Tim and I got on the court, we played for about 45 minutes. It felt good to have a racket in my hand. I felt a little out of sync but we had fun.
Thursday, I thought work was going to be hectic because I was the only platform manager at work. However, the day was calm and I was blessed by the prayer coverage of my friends. It turned out to be a great day. At MOSAIC we started 4 new electives. I will be taking the elective on Discipleship taught by Pastor Deone. I am looking forward to the next 8 or 9 weeks. After MOSIAC there was a meeting to go over some of the details about my upcoming missions trip. It is now less than 2 weeks away. I can hardly believe it. Once the meeting was over a group of us headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings for some food and more fellowship.
Friday was a long day at work. I was able to come home for two hours and took a short nap to rejuvenate. After work, I came home and cooked up 18 pounds of ground turkey for taco meat for my bonfire next Saturday. It took me and hour and a half and I was glad it is done.
Saturday I got up early and headed to a 2 hour tennis drill. I have not played at the Glen all summer and it was good to be back. Dave, the coach, was surprised to hear I had not been there all summer. I told him I did not come because he was not there and he laughed (in a good way).
After tennis I headed to Walmart to do some shopping for birthdays, bonfires and other stuff. I was in there about and hour and spent more than I wanted to. I am glad I had a list and tried to stay as close to the list as possible.
Saturday evening found me with five other women at our good friend, Wendy's home. She invited us all over for a girl's night. Her husband, Nate, was out of town and she wanted some company. We each brought a dish to pass that went along with spaghetti. Dinner was wonderful. After dinner we sat around and talked. Some of us headed over to the Lockport Lighthouse Cafe to listen to a band. Those who went said it was good.
Now here comes the part about mindset & sore muscles. Yesterday, I met with a personal trainer at Bally's fitness center. The first half an hour, Greg (the trainer) asked questions about why now?, what were my goals and what I needed to do to accomplish those goals. Well, the second half an hour Greg showed me 8 different exercises to help me tone my muscles and also lose some of the extra weight I've been carrying around far too long. It was a good workout. I felt like a wet noodle when it was all over. Today I was sore, but I headed back and felt like a fool. I did the exercises and felt good afterwards. Now I am not only sore but tired.
I guess I better close or this will end up being a book. I will try to write sooner.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Scapbooks & other Stuff

This past Saturday I got together with a few friends to scrapbook. I have not done much scrapbooking over the past year, but that has not stopped me from taking pictures. So as you can imagine I am a bit behind in my books. Well, the five hours I spent scrapbooking on Saturday put a small dent in the pile of pictures I have on my desk.
It was nice spending the afternoon with my two sisters and my friends, Karen, Karin & Kisha. Everyone had a certain project they were working on. It is interesting to see how each person's creativity is expressed in their own books. Me, I think my pages are simple yet they get a person's attention. At least I hope they do :)
We started to clean up around 5pm to head over to our friend Brian's house. Earlier in the day others had gone over to help him to some work around his house. I heard they totally pulled apart the basement, painted the living room and did some work in the bathroom. By the time, Kisha, Karin and I arrived everyone was starting to clean up and dinner was being prepared. Brian was truly blessed that day. We also celebrated MaryBeth's and Laurie's 50th birthdays. They wanted to use their celebration to help Brian. What a blessing those two and the others were to Brian!
On Sunday morning I headed out to the Chapel at Crosspoint to listen to another great message from Pastor Jerry Gillis. He has started a series called Justice Served. You can always listen to the message at thechapel.com This weeks message was called "Wrong made Right" A great message.
After service Karin, Bill and I headed over to Tim Horton's to get some lunch. We always have a great time when we get together. After lunch I headed home to get some rest. I did take a nap, finished watching the Bill's beat Jacksonville and then I worked on my scrapbook again. I completed 7 pages. (20 pages over the whole weekend). Woohoo!!
Monday I started to get food together for my annual bonfire next week. I also had dinner at Moe's with my friend, Jeff. We had a nice time and I needed the time to settle down from a hectic day at work.
Well, now I am off to work. I hope you all have a blessed day. God is Good all the Time and I for one am thankful.
Until next time!
Blessings to you

Funerals & forgiveness

Backyard football games, hockey on a makeshift snow rink, basketball in the spring and plain old fun that is how I will remember Charles L. Wood (Sr). He was a man I admired as a young teenage girl. He challenged me, encourage me and sometimes even made fun of me but not without an ever present smile.
Yesterday, I went to the viewing for Mr. Wood. I was not sure I would be able to go because the viewings were during my work time and I had a fund raiser at MOSAIC in the evening. My brother, Keith, on Wednesday night told me he had died but really didn't know any of the details aside from the viewing times. At work yesterday I asked to leave for about an hour and I am glad I did. I was blessed.
It has been about 10 years since I have seen Mr. Wood. I had dated (if you call it dating at 14) both of his sons, with Chip being the one I cared about the most. I was a little nervous about going to the viewing because of Chip yet I knew I needed to go. God knew it as well. I arrived and saw Mrs. Wood first and found out that the death was suddenly. He had just come in from running (I think he had a heart attack). She was both surprised and glad I was able to come. It had been such a long time. Next I saw Laurie, the daughter, she told me she was wondering if I was even still in the area and was also glad I was able to come. After Laurie was Jim, he just came over sobbing and gave me a great big hug. Then the awkward moment of seeing Chip after about 20 years. We looked at each other and then he said "Get over here" and we hugged. He was glad I came to support the family.
Chip made sure to tell me to look at the picture collages that were displayed of his dad because I was in a couple of the photos from when we played hockey in the backyard. We walked over to the photos and were able to talk for a little bit. While talking he leaned over and gave me another hug and asked me for forgiveness for him treating me unkindly many years ago. I was a bit shocked and overwhelmed and yes, I forgave him. It was the least I could do. I told him were were kids and I cared about him a lot. He knew that. Another thing he mentioned was that he believed like I do. He & his family started to attend church a little over a year ago. It has given him hope. I was so excited to hear it. Praise God!
When I left the funeral home, I was both sad and glad. Sad because Mr. Wood will be greatly missed and glad because there was reconciliation of a relationship after many years.
Thanks for listening/reading~
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Racketball & friends

Monday I awoke with sore muscles and a headache. Yet, I was looking forward to playing racketball later that evening with Christopher, Bill and Karin. I did not know how I was going to play especially because my legs were sore. Plus I was extremely tired.
At about 7:30 I made it to Bally's to meet Christopher & Bill. Karin was running a little late. The three of us headed over to the courts and began to play. I was a little nervous since it was only my third time playing and I heard Christopher plays a "mean" game of racketball. We started out playing "cutthroat". Each player was a team by themselves when they served the ball otherwise they were a doubles team. I did lose but I did get on the board with at least 5 points. Christopher beat both Bill and me. That is okay because it makes me strive harder to get better at the game.
Karin did finally arrive and we broke up into teams. Bill and Karin vs Christopher and Me. They were hard fought games. With four people on a court in an enclosed room it was hard to get out of each others way. We did finally get into the groove of things. There was a lot of hard hitting and laughter. I seemed to have the ball attracted to me especially off either Christopher's or Bill's serve. All I could do was laugh. I was glad to have the safety glasses even if they fogged up because I was so hot.
We played four games and after the games Bill showed me the weight machines. Very interesting! If I had someone to work with me I probably would join.
Well, I must close. It has been a long day.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Bills & chowder in the rain

Sunday afternoon found me at my friend Jackie's for a Bill's chowder party. She invited many of our friends over to her house to watch the Buffalo Bill's home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. The game started at one but Jackie started making her chowder a whole lot earlier that morning. She had a huge and do I mean huge pot outside by her garage in which she made the chowder. Once several of the ingredients had been added to the pot, the chowder had to be continually stirred. Jackie, Karen, Charles, Martin and Sylvia all helped. I am sure there were others but I did not see them.
The chowder was ready about 2:30 just in time for half time. At half time the Bills were ahead. Always a good thing for the Bills. Outside it was raining and more people continued to arrive to enjoy the chowder, fellowship and the game.
I was outside for part of the game. Charles and I played a short handed version of KanJam(a game created right here in Buffalo). We had the best time. There was no shortness of laughter. There can not be when Charles is around. I did manage to get the frisbee into the slot.
Later after the game a bunch of the group came outside and played catch (football), soccer and frisbee. We then proceeded to play a game of one-hand/two hand touch football. The teams were made up of two girls and three guys. I was on a team with Johnny, Bill, John & Charity. The grass was slippery because of the rain and it was very humid outside. What a game! The rules seemed to change with each play (Charity was not too happy about that.) Karin was an impressive player by making some catches to get her team close to the endzone. However I broke up the touch down plays by intercepting the football at the one yard line (this happened 2x). The game ended with a score of 5-2. Everyone had a great time and we were all sweaty and tired.
The day ended with a bonfire behind Jackie's house. It was a wonderful day spend with friends. We had many good laughs and lot's of stories to tell about our day. Most of us, including myself, were not looking forward to going to work the next day.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Rest, Rudy & RV

Saturday I was suppose to go out on Jim's boat but was too exhausted. I ended up taking a two and a half hour nap. I guess you could say my body needed the rest.
After resting I got in contact with my good friend, Bill. We were going to see if the races at Dunn Tire Raceway were going to be running. If they were I would be going to the races and if they were not we would come up with another alternative for the evening. As it turned out, the weather was not very cooperative to have the races run, so Bill invited a few of us over to his house to play games or watch movies. I promised him I would not bring any chick flicks for him to watch. (Can you imagine, he just laughed at me.)
Well, I called a few people and left many messages. As it turned out the only people in attendance were Bill, Jeff, Karin and me. When we arrived, Jeff ended up showing Bill a website where you could see different political cartoons or reruns from Saturday night live. I was not impressed, but to each his own. Once Karin arrived we ordered subs and watched the movie, Rudy. What an inspiring movie! It is one of Bill's favorite movies. I enjoyed it and may have to add it to my collection.
After the first movie, we were not sure if we wanted to play a game or watch another movie. Jeff was watching "Catch Me if You Can" on tv and was out voted to watch a different movie. We ended up watching "RV" with Robin Williams. A funny movie!
Once again it was a late evening but a fun evening. Thanks Bill for opening your home up so we could have a good time of fellowship.
Until Next Time~
Blessings to you~~

Peaches & Rain

Last Friday after work I met up with Jeff and we drove together to go to Jenn's in Lewiston for Lewiston's annual Peach Festival. When we arrived several of our other friends were already there waiting to head up to downtown Lewiston for the festival. We decided it was a good idea to walk up to the festival with hopes that it would not rain.
We arrived on the festival grounds and it started to sprinkle within 10 minutes there was a steady rain. Jenn & I walked to the Peach shortcake tent to find enough table space for at least 10 people. The others were figuring out what they wanted to eat. Bill and Karin came back to the table first so Jenn & I were able to go get our dinner. I bought a chiken pita. It was delicious. For dessert we all got the famous peach shortcake. The peaches were fresh from the can and tasted as if they were fresh from the peach tree. We continued to stay under the tent as the rain continued to come down harder. Julie, Alex and Vince were supposed to meet up with us at 8pm but decided not to come up to Lewiston because of the rain.
About 8pm Jenn and Karin decided to walk in the rain back to Jenn's house. They did not get far because Nate & Wendy offered to drive them back to the house. Jenn & Karin collected a few keys to cars so they could move cars around in the driveway to get Jenn's car out of the garage. It took a little coercing for some people to give up their keys. Kind of funny if you ask me!
Well, Nate, Wendy, Karin, Jenn & I all drove back to the house. Karin and Jenn drove back with their cars to pick up the rest of the group. When we arrived back some of us just hung out upstairs and some went to the basement to play pingpong.
From what I heard Mark Weber was part of a good conversation trying to figure out what characteristics he was looking for in a woman. I did not hear the conversation just heard that it was interesting.
I was one of those who were in the basement. Bill and Jenn were "trash" talking each other on who was better at ping pong. The competition was intense. Jim was trying to stay neutral especially since the guys were outnumbered. We had some great laughs. Especially seeing Jenn beat Bill at ping pong with a huge pink ping pong ball. He complained that the color of the ball matched Jenn's shirt and it was distracting. Too bad, Bill, Jenn won fair and square.
The evening ended with everyone leaving around 12:30am. It was a fun evening and I was exhausted.
Until next time~
Blessings to you!

Labor Day @ the Park

Last week Monday found me and several of my friends at the Clarence Town Park for the MOSAIC /Eastern Hills Wesleyan Singles Labor Day Picnic. The picnic started at 1pm and ended around 7pm. Over 100 singles came out to enjoy an afternoon of food, fun and fellowship. I was able to play tennis on one of the two courts at the park. Bill, John, Charles, Karen, Karin, Lisa and a few others came out to play as well. The sun was shining brightly so it was easy to get tired out quickly. I played with Bill, John, and Noel a very competitive doubles game. We played one game and decided it was too hot so we just rallied for a while. It was good to play since I have not played a whole lot this summer.
Nate, Wendy, Jeff, Karin, Bill and I all played a little bit of frisbee. We had a few good laughs. At around 4pm dinner was served. Once again we had hamburgers and hot dogs with a choice of 4 different salads. I am always impressed with those who are willing to serve others before themselves.
After dinner the singles sat around talking and laughing with one another. I had a good converstion with my friend, Phil. Around 5:30 many of the singles headed over to the baseball diamond for a friendly game of softball.
About 2o players lined up to be picked for teams. Jim and Bill were team captains. Then the games began. It was exciting to watch each player get up to bat with the intense desire to nail to ball to center field to get on base. A couple players took swings at the ball and swung so hard that they ended up on the ground. Each team played their best and had a great time. You could see the excitement on their faces.
Over all the day was wonderful. After the picnic a few of us headed over to Anderson's for some ice cream.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Atlanta visits Buffalo

This past week an old friend from Oral Roberts was in the area training new representatives for his job. I was able to get together with him a couple of the nights that he was in the area. Tuesday night I met up with him and we went to Duff's to try out the chicken wings and Loganberry. Wednesday night he met me at the First Trinity Lutheran Church to play some volleyball. He actually played well for not having played in a few years. Thursday night he met me at MOSAIC(the singles ministry I attend) to meet a group of my friends. I was glad to be able to put faces to names of people I have mentioned to him over the years. It was also nice to show him some of my hang outs. He seemed to have an enjoyable time and it was nice to have him in my home town.
He is one of those friends that has made a lasting impression on my life. I am blessed that God saw fit to have us meet 15 years ago at Oral Roberts University. We have both grown over the years and it is neat to see where God has brought us. So Chris, if you read this you are a true friend and I am blessed.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Racetracks & Rain

On Sunday August 24, I met Bill, Jeff, Karin & Jim at Dunn Tire Raceway to watch the races. We met at the track around 1:45pm. The skies were starting to get a little cloudy so we were a little apprehensive about purchasing tickets. We bought the tickets and headed in. We sat in the first turn of the track so we could get a good view of the whole race. The first race started and our eyes were glued to the track. If Karin or I did not know something about the cars racing or why they did something all we had to do was ask Bill or Jim for the information.
The second race was 100 laps. At around the 85th lap it started to sprinkle. The question was whether or not the race would be completed. The race was completed and then then rain came. Boy, did the rain come. I had to race back to my car because I had may camera and I did not want it to get ruined. I made it back to the car and I was soaked. I sat in my car and waited for the others to come to their cars.
Once we were back to the cars, Jeff rode with me over to the Boston Hotel where we decided to go to dinner. It was a first for me. The food was good. We sat on the enclosed porch and watched as the storm came in. What a storm it was! The lightning was right across the street. I was glad we were under some sort of cover. Storms are better for me when others are around.
The day was fun and we now have rain checks to enjoy another race at another time. Possibly this weekend.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Missions Fund Raiser

On Saturday August 23, Jim Dean held a picnic at his home to help raise funds for the Mexico Missions trip he and 16 others (including me) will be going on. The day started out beautiful and continued to stay that way all day.
Jackie, Sylvia, Karen and Charles all arrived early to help Jim set up outside. He has a bigger yard than I knew about. It was big enough to hold a good size volleyball court and have room for people to sit around and chill. I arrived around 2pm when the picnic started. I brought lemon cookie bars for my contribution. Charles was into them immediately and proceeded to pass them out to all who were there. He enjoyed eat bite immensely. It made me laugh out loud.
Over the next few hours many more people came to enjoy the picnic and the company of others. We ate around 4:30pm. Some of the guys grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs. They did a fabulous job manning the grill. The ladies set up the food tables and dinner was served. Lots of good food.
After dinner some of the group played volleyball, some just continued to eat, some played Bocce ball and others just visited with one another. At the end of the evening, a bonfire pit was brought out and we all sat around the fire. Towards the end of the evening prayers were prayed for the missions team. It will be neat to see how God answers those prayers in the next month.
It was a great day and the people who came were generous with their donations. Praise the Lord.
Until next time!
Blessings to you ~~